Die embossing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A die for use in a power press to produce automobile license plates or the like includes a flat concentric assembly of relatively rotatable rings each of which has a circular series of consecutive digit embossing elements at the obverse side of the assembly. At the converse side of the ring assembly a back and forth swingable indexing arm cooperates with notches in the rings so as to rotate the rings stepwise in predetermined order and present the digit embossing elements thereof in successive serial number configurations.

United States Patent [191 Alexander Aug. 12, 1975 [54] DIE EMBOSSING APPARATUS 680,646 8/1901 Cooley 101/19 X 1,407,769 2/1922 Premom. 101/18 [76] Invenw Alexander 3 BOX 2,689,520 9/1954 Katz 101/103 291, Conway, Ark. 72032 [22] Filed: Jan. 16, 1974 Primary Examiner-Clyde l. Coughenour Attorney, Agent, or Firm-James E. Nilles [21] Appl. No.: 433,819

Related US. Application Data ABSTRACT [62] Division of Ser. No. 296,602, 0m. 11, 1972, Pat. No. A die for use in a Power Press to Produce automobile 3,824,921. license plates or the like includes a flat concentric assembly of relatively rotatable rings each of which has [52] U.S. Cl. 101/18; 72/404; 101/78 a circular series of consecutive digit embossing ele- [51] Int. Cl B44b 5/02; B411 47/44 ments at the obverse side of the assembly. At the con- [58] Field of Search 101 /l 8, 19, 20, 70, 78; verse side of the ring assembly a back and forth swing- 72/404, 405 able indexing arm cooperates with notches in the rings so as to rotate the rings stepwise in predetermined [56] References Cited order and present the digit embossing elements UNITED STATES PATENTS thereof in successive serial number configurations.

191,254 5/1877 Pole 101/296 X 4 Claims, 33 Drawing Figures 25 29 S 5 16 u 2 11 Q 9 j 5" WJLU NS IN 13 47 22 PATENTED AUG 1 2 I975 3, 898,925 sum 1 PATENTEnAuci 2|975 3,898,925

' SHEET 2 FIG. 5

PATENTED AUG 1 2 1915 SHEET 2 5232i nu PATENTEU Ausi 21915 SHEET PATENTED m1 2 1915 SHEET PATENTED Auui 2197s SHEET FIG. 18

PATENTED AUG 1 2l975 SHEET A10iOOO PATENTEU Ausi 2197s SHEET FIG. 23

PATENTED U 1 21975 3, 8 98 925 sum 13 PATENTEDAUBIZIBYS 3 898,925

SHEET 15 FIG. 33

DIE EMBOSSING APPARATUS REFERENCE TO RELATED CO-PENDING APPLICATION This application is a division of my co-pending U.S.

' application Ser. No. 296,602, filed Oct. 11, 1972, now

US. Pat. No. 3,824,921 for Serial Number Embossing Apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention has to do with the manufacture of automobile license plates and similar articles which have embossed progressive serial numbers and which must be produced in relatively large quantities such as several millions.

During the past it has been customary to provide several power presses for working strip stock into automobile license plates, namely a blanking press for cutting the strip stock to length and punching mounting holes into the blanks; a numbering press for embossing successive plates with consecutive serial numbers; and a rimming press for embossing the plates with the name of the state, the month and year of issue and usually some promoting legend. The performance of the mentioned manufacturing operations by means of separate presses has obvious disadvantages. The presses not only involve a substantial capital investment but for high volume production operating personnel must also be provided for each press. The numbering presses as heretofore employed have usually been of the type wherein the digits of the serial number had to be changed by hand, and in order to do this efficiently more than one operator was required.

Further, the numbering presses as heretofore employed have usually been unable to turn out the same number of plates per minute as the blanking, punching and rimming presses. For that reason more than one numbering press has usually been provided to match the production capacity of the other presses. When this was done it meant not only an increase of the capital investment but also an increase of the number of operators for the entire product line. Also, the use of individual presses for the various manufacturing operations entailed the need for a relatively large crew to transport the plates from one press to the next.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, it is an object of the invention to overcome the hereinabove outlined disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art with respect to the manufacture of serially numbered automobile license plates.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved serial number embossing die for use in power presses, the improved die incorporating a plurality of relatively movable digit embossing elements and an indexing mechanism whereby the digit embossing elements are successively presented in progressive serial number configurations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a progressive die for working strip stock continuously into perforated, inscribed and serially numbered plate members, the serial numbers of successive plates increasing in predetermined order.

A further object of the invention is to provide a progressive die of the above mentioned character wherein successive die sections are arranged to work simultaneously on different portions of a continuous length of strip stock, and wherein portions of the continuous strip stock are cut off by a blanking section of the die after they have been worked on by the preceding die sections.

These and other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated by the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a power press embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial'sectional elevation of the power press shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a progressive die incorporated in the power press shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a worms eye view of a progressive counter die incorporated in the power press shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embossing die detail;

FIG. 6 is a view of the obverse side of a concentric decimal ring assembly;

FIG. 7 is a view of the converse side of the decimal ring assembly shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an embossing ring support and associated parts incorporated in the power press shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a pawl series shown assembled in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a section on line 11 ll of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a section similar to FIG. 11 with parts shown in a different position of adjustment;

FIG. 13 is a section on line 13-13 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a fractional section on line 14--14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a section on line 15-15 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 16 is a section on line 16-16 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of parts shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view along line 1818 in FIG. 3, showing an indexing mechanism in a first operating condition;

FIGS. 19 and 20 are views similar to FIG. 18, showing the indexing mechanism in successive condifions of adjustment;

FIGS. 21-30 are schematic views of the decimal ring assembly and indexing mechanism in successive conditions of adjustment;

FIG. 31 is a schematic illustration of successive manufacturing operations of the power press shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 32 is an electro-pneumatic circuit diagram; and

FIG. 33 shows the circuit diagram of FIG. 32, in a different operating condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The power press shown in FIG. 1 generally comprises a main frame 1 having a stationary lower platen 2, and an up and down movable upper platen 3 carried by a ram 4. An eccentric actuating mechanism for the ram 4 is of conventional construction, not shown, and includes a flywheel 6.

The lower platen 2 forms an elongated base member of a progressive die (FIG. 3) comprising a hole punching or perforating section 7; a serial number embossing section 8; a rimming or inscription embossing section 9; a double length idle section 11 (FIG. 2); and a blanking section 12. As shown in FIG. 3 the perforating section 7 is located at one end of the base member 2, the blanking section 12 is located at the other end of the base member 2, and the numeral embossing and inscription embossing sections are located intermediate said perforating and blanking sections.

The upper platen 3 (FIG. 4) mounts a progressive counter die comprising a punch section 13; an elastically deformable pad section 14; a rimming section 16; a double length idle section 17; and a blanking section 18. As shown in FIG. 5, a flat, rectangular pad of elastically deformable material, such as Urethane, is seated in a rectangular recess of a mounting plate 20 which in turn is secured to the under side of the upper platen 3.

The stationary perforating section 7 and the opposite perforating section 13 cooperate during a downward stroke of the ram 4 to punch three round holes 19 and one key hole 21 into strip stock 22 as shown in FIG. 31. An intermittent feed mechanism (FIG. 1) for advancing the strip stock 22 step by step from a supply reel 23 into the working space between the stationary and movable platens 2 and 3 is of conventional construction and comprises gripper and retainer assemblies 24, 26 and a pneumatic feed cylinder 27. An expanding stroke of the feed cylinder 27 advances the strip stock a distance equal to the length of the finished license plate.

Succeeding the punch section 7 on the stationary platen is the serial number embossing section 8 which is constructed as follows. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 8, a generally circular plate is mounted on the lower platen 2 in a horizontal position, and at its upper side the plate 25 mounts an anvil block 28, and two radial support bars 29 and 31. On top of the anvil block 28 and radial support bars rests a flat concentric assembly of five relatively rotatable decimal rings U, W, X, Y and Z. A circular series of anti-friction balls 32 (FIG. 15) is seated in a circular race at the inner periphery of the decimal ring U and in a complementary race at the outer periphery of the decimal ring W. Another series of anti-friction balls 33 is similarly seated between the decimal rings W and X; and a third series of antifriction balls 34 is similarly seated between the decimal rings Y and Z. As further shown in FIG. 8, the anvil block 28 has a radially outer abutment 36 presenting an arcuately concave guide face 37 forcooperative engagement with the outer periphery of the decimal ring U. Another abutment 38 at the radially inner end of the anvil block 28 presents an arcuately convex guide face 39 for cooperative engagement with the inner periphery of the decimal ring Z. At its upper side the abutment 38 has a raised embossing code letter which may be any letter of the alphabet and which has here been selected as the letter A. Intermediate the abutments 36 and 38 the anvil block 28 has an arcuate abutment 41 presenting a convex guide face 42 for cooperative engagement with the inner periphery of the decimal ring X, and a concave guide face 43 for the outer periphery of the decimal ring Y. At its upper side the abutment 41 has a rectangular projection 40 for embossing the license plate with a divider mark between the third and fourth digit of the serial number.

A radially outer guide lug 44 (FIG. 8) and a radially inner pressure roller 46 are carried by each of the radial support bars 29 and 31, the guide lugs 44 engaging the outer periphery of the first decimal ring U, and the rollers 46 bearing down upon the last decimal ring Z.

At the obverse side of the decimal ring assembly each of the decimal rings U, W, X, Y and Z is provided with a circular series of ten consecutive digit embossing elements numbered zero to nine at equal angular spacings. At the converse side of the decimal ring assembly, the serial number embossing section of the lower die is provided with an indexing mechanism which is operable to rotate the decimal rings step by step in predetermined order so as to present the digit embossing elements of the decimal rings in successive serial number configuration over the anvil bar 28.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 15, the first decimal ring U has a circular series of ten equally spaced indexing notches U to U at its under side adjacent the outer periphery of the ring U, and at its inner periphery, directly opposite to the indexing notch U the ring U has an auxiliary notch Ua.

The second decimal ring W, as well as the third decimal ring X, and the fourth decimal ring Y are each provided at their under-sides and adjacent their outer peripheries with a circular series of ten equally spaced indexing notches, and with one auxiliary notch adjacent their inner peripheries. The indexing notches of the second decimal ring are numbered W W those of the third decimal ring are numbered X X and those of the fourth decimal ring are numbered Y -Y Auxiliary notches W X... and Y are provided at the under sides and adjacent the inner peripheries of the rings W, X and Y directly opposite to the indexing notches W X and Y respectively. The fifth, that is the radially innermost, decimal ring Z has a circular series of ten equally spaced indexing notches 2 -2 at its underside and adjacent its outer periphery.

All the indexing and auxiliary notches of all the decimal rings are profiled alike as shown in FIG. 16. A hardened steel block 45 is secured in each notch by a screw 50, as shown in FIG. 17. Removal of the block 45 from the notch Ua and from the notches W W permits insertion of the balls 32 between the decimal rings U and W. The balls 33 may be similarly inserted between the rings W and X, and the balls 34 may be inserted in the same manner between the rings Y and Z.

In the condition of the serial number embossing section as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the ciphers of all five decimal rings are presented in zero serial number configuration over the anvil bar 28 in line with the code letter A. Rotary adjustment of the decimal rings to the zero serial number configuration as shown in FIG. 3 also brings the indexing notches U W X Y and Z and the auxiliary notches U,,, W X and 2,, into radial alignment as shown in FIG. 21.

Selective rotation of the decimal rings in predetermined order so as to present the embossing digits of the five rings in successive serial number configurations is effected by means of a back and forth swingable indexing arm generally designated in FIG. 8 by the reference numeral 64. The arm comprises a solid bar 47 which extends radially from the center of the decimal ring assembly and is swingable horizontally back and forth below the ring assembly on a pivot pin 48 carried on swiveled at its barrel end on a bracket 52 secured to the plate 25. The piston rod 53 of the cylinder has a universal swivel connection with an actuating lever 54 (FIG. 18) of the indexing arm 64, the lever 54 extending upwardly from the lower side of the ring assembly through the space between rings X and Y. Air hoses 56 and 57 (FIG. 1) lead from the barrel end and from the gland end, respectively, of the cylinder 51 to a solenoid valve 58 on the main frame 1. A hose line 59 connects the solenoid valve 58 with a source of air pressure 61, and the solenoid valve has an exhaust pipe 62 for the emission of air therefrom. Up and down movement of the ram 4 actuates electrical control switch Sw-1, Sw-2 and T-S (FIG. 32) for the solenoid valve so as to direct air pressure alternately to the barrel end and the gland end of the cylinder 51. Admission of air pressure to the barrel end of the cylinder 51 causes swinging of the indexing arm 64 from the indexing position in which it is shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, to a catch position indicated by the dash-dotted line 62 in FIG. 8, and admission of air pressure to the gland end of the cylinder 51 causes swinging of the indexing arm 64 from the catch position back to the indexing position shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 8.

Referring to FIGS. 9-12 and 18, the bar 47 of the indexing arm 64 has an elongated recess 63 (FIG. 9) which is closed at one side by a fixed wall member 64 and which is faced at the other side by a swingable fence bar 66. A hinge 67 (FIG. 11) connects the fence bar 66 to the lower part of the bar 47, and a pair of shoulder bolts, one of which is shown at 68 in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, limit swinging of the fence bar 66 away from the bar 47. The actuating lever 54 is secured to the fence bar 66 by bolts 69. At the upper side of the bar 47 the recess 63 is spanned by a spring steel leaf 71 which is secured to the fence bar 66 by two screws 72, one, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 11, at the radially outer end of the fence bar, and the other, as shown in FIG. 8, at the radially inner end of the fence bar. The leaf 71 further has a sliding connection at its opposite ends with the bar 47, the radially outer sliding connection, as shown in FIGS. 9, 11 and 12 comprising a screw 73 and a slotted hole 74 in the leaf 71, this connection being duplicated at the radially inner end of the leaf 71 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 10 shows an exploded view of five pawls 76, 77, 78, 79 and 81 which in the assembled condition of the indexing arm are mounted within the recessed portion 63 of the bar 47. Each pawl has a hinge lug 82 by means of which it is mounted on a long hinge pin 83 extending across the recess 63 of the bar 47. Each pawl is further biased upwardly against the underside of the decimal ring assembly U, W, X, Y, Z by a coil spring 84 reacting between the bar 47 and the respective pawl.

The pawl 76 underlies the decimal ring U (FIG. 9) and has a roller 86 in cooperable relation to the indexing notches Uq-Ug of the decimal ring U.

The pawl 77 bridges the decimal rings U and W (FIG. 9) and has a roller 87 in cooperable relation to the auxiliary notch Ua of the ring U, and another roller 88 in cooperable relation with the indexing notches W -W of the decimal ring W.

The pawl 78 bridges the decimal rings W and X (FIG. 9) and has a roller 89 in cooperable relation with the auxiliary notch W of the ring W and another roller 91 in cooperable relation to the indexing notches X -X of the decimal ring X.

The pawl 79 bridges the decimal rings X and Y (FIG. 9) and has a roller 92 in cooperable relation with the auxiliary notch X of the ring X, and another roller 93 in cooperative relation with the indexing notches Y Y of the ring y.

The pawl 81 bridges the decimal rings Y and Z (FIG. 9) and has a roller 94 in cooperative relation with the auxiliary notch Y of the ring Y, and another roller 96 in cooperative relation to the indexing notches Z Z of the ring Z.

As further shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the pawl 77 has an upper coupling lu'g 97 at its side adjacent the pawl 78, and the pawl 78 has a lower coupling lug 98 at its side adjacent the pawl 77. Similarly, the pawl 78 has an upper coupling lug 99 at its side adjacent the pawl 79 which in turn has a complementary lower coupling lug 101 at its side adjacent the pawl 78. The same coupling arrangement is provided between the pawls 79 and 81, the pawl 79 having an upper coupling lug 102, and the pawl 81 having a complementary lower coupling lug 103. In the assembled condition of the indexing bar as shown in FIG. 9, the coupling lug 97 over-lies the cou pling lug 98; the coupling lug 99 overlies the coupling lug 101, and the coupling lug 102 overlies the coupling lug 103.

FIG. 18 shows the pawl 76 in a raised position in which its roller 86 engages the notch U of the outermost decimal ring U. The piston rod 53 of the pneumatic cylinder 51 is shown in its retracted position corresponding to FIG. 3. Further, FIG. 18 shows the fence bar 66 swung against the bar 47. The fence bar 66 has a longitudinal ledge 104 which in the condition of the parts as shown in FIG. 18 underlies a lip 106 of the pawl 76.

In the condition of the mechanism as shown in FIG. 3, the relation between the indexing pawl 76 and the ring U as illustrated by FIG. 18 also exists, as shown in FIG. 9, between the pawl 77 and the ring W; between the pawl 78 and the ring X; between the pawl 79 and the ring Y; and between the pawl 81 and the ring Z. Moreover, in the condition of the mechanism as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, the roller 87 of the pawl 77 engages the auxiliary notch U. of the ring U; the roller 89 of the pawl 78 engages the auxiliary notch W of the ring W; the roller 92 of the pawl 79 engages the auxiliary notch X,, of the ring X, and the roller 94 engages the auxiliary notch Y, of the ring Y.

Upon admission of air pressure to the barrel end of the cylinder 51 (FIG. 8) the piston rod 53 advances in the direction of the arrow 107 in FIG. 18 and causes the fence bar 66 to swing away from the bar 47 into the position illustrated by FIG. 12. During such swinging of the fence bar, the leaf 71 engages all of the pawls 76, 77, 78, 79 and 81 and forces them into a depressed condition as illustrated by FIG. 19. Continued movement of the piston rod 93 then swings the indexing bar from the indexing position, in which it is shown in FIG. 8, to the catch position indicated by the dotted line 61 in FIG. 8 and shown in FIG. 21. During such swinging of the indexing bar, the rollers of all the pawls ride along the smooth bottom surfaces of the decimal rings between the zero indexing notches and the number one indexing notches. Upon arrival of the indexing bar in the catch position as shown in FIGS. and 21, only the pawl 76 can snap into engagement with the indexing notch U,. The roller 88 (FIG. 9) of the pawl 77 is prevented from entering the indexing notch W, by contact of its roller 87 with the underside of the ring U; the roller 91 of the pawl 78 is prevented from entering the indexing notch X, of the ring X by contact of its roller 89 with the ring W; the roller 93 of the pawl 79 is prevented from entering the notch Y, of the ring Y by contact of its roller 92 with the undersurface of the ring X; and the roller 96 of the pawl 82 is prevented from entering the indexing notch Z, of the ring Z by contact of its roller 94 with the undersurface of the ring Y. After the indexing arm has arrived in the catch position illustrated by FIG. 21, air pressure is admitted to the gland end of the cylinder 51. The resulting indexing stroke of the arm 64 in the direction of arrow 108 in FIG. 20 first swings the fence bar 66 and lever 54 from the full line to the dash-dotted position in FIG. 20 with the result that the pawl 76 is locked in its raised position by the ledge 104 of the fence bar 66. At the same time the ledge 104 locks all the other pawls in their depressed positions by reason of engagement of the slanted lower side of the ledge with the upper sides of the depressed pawls 77, 78, 79 and 81.

Continued movement of the arm 64 in the direction of arrow 108 in FIG. 20 returns the arm to its indexing position shown in FIG. 8. During such return movement of the indexing arm, the pawl 76, being locked in the indexing notch U, of the ring U, starts to rotate the ring U in the direction of arrow 108 in FIG. 22 and thereby moves the digit 1 of the ring U towards its embossing position over the anvil bar 28. Upon arrival of the indexing bar in the indexing position as illustrated by FIG. 23, the digit 1 of the ring U has arrived in its embossing position on the anvil bar 28. The pawl 77, however, remains depressed by contact of its roller 87 (FIG. 9) with the underside of the ring U. The pawls 78, 79 and 81 also remain depressed by downward pressure of the coupling lugs 97, 99 and 102 upon the coupling lugs 98, 101 and 103, respectively.

On the next expanding stroke of the pneumatic cylinder 51, the roller 86 of the pawl 76 engages the indexing notch U, of the ring U while the pawls 77, 78, 79 and 81 remain depressed. A subsequent contracting stroke of the pneumatic cylinder 51 then brings the digit 2 of the ring U into the embossing position on the anvil bar 28 while the rings W, X, Y and Z remain in the zero position. Continued back and forth movement of the indexing arm will then advance the ring U until the digit 9 has arrived in the embossing position on the anvil bar 28, while the rings W, X, Y and Z remain in their zero positions.

The tenth catch stroke of the indexing bar as shown in FIG. 24 brings the pawl 76 into engagement with the indexing notch U, of the ring U and it also. brings the auxiliary notch U, into registry with the indexing notch W, of the ring W. Upon the subsequent tenth indexing stroke of the indexing arm 64, the cipher of the ring U and the digit 1 of the ring W move in unison into the embossing position on the anvil bar 28, as indicated by FIG. 25. During the next catch stroke of the indexing arm, the roller 86 of the pawl 76 engages the indexing notch U, of the ring U, but the roller 88 of the pawl 77 cannot enter the notch W of the ring W because of the contact of the roller 87 with the undersurface of the ring U. Similarly, the roller 91 of the pawl 78 cannot engage the indexing notch X, of the ring X because of the contact of the roller 89 with the undersurface of the ring W. Similarly, the roller 93 of the pawl 79 cannot engage the indexing notch Y, of the ring Y because of the contact of the roller 92 with the undersurface of the ring X; and the roller 96 of the pawl 81 cannot engage the indexing notch Z, of the ring Z because of the contact of the roller 94 with the undersurface of the ring Y. Consequently, the indexing arm 76 may be swung nine times into the catch position and back into the indexing position thereby advancing the ring U until the digit 9 of the ring U has arrived in the embossing position on the anvil bar 28 while the digit 1 of the ring W and the ciphers of the rings X, Y, 2 remain in the embossing position.

When the indexing arm is swung into its catch position on its 99th catch stroke (FIG. 26), the roller89 of the pawl 78 moves into the auxiliary notch W, of the ring W and at the same time the roller 91 of the pawl 78 moves into the indexing notch X, of the ring X. Upon the th indexing stroke of the indexing arm, the digit 1 of the ring X will move into the embossing position as shown in FIG. 27 while the rings U and W move into the zero position as shown in FIG. 27.

The foregoing explanations illustrate the operating principle of the serial number embossing section. Generally speaking, the second decimal ring W is advanced one digit upon every full revolution of the first decimal ring U; the third decimal ring X is advanced one digit upon every full revolution of the second decimal ring W; the fourth decimal ring Y is advanced one digit upon every full revolution of the decimal ring X; and the fifth decimal ring Z is advanced one digit upon every full revolution of the decimal ring Y.

The indexing arm 46 is pivoted on the stationary platen 2 at the center of the decimal ring assembly UWXYZ and extends radially at the converse side thereof. The hydraulic cylinder 51 provides power transmitting means for swinging the indexing arm alternately in forward and reverse directions about its pivot center. Clutch means including relatively movable latch elements as represented by the pawls 76-81 are operatively interposed between the indexing arm and the decimal rings for transmitting successive swinging movements of the indexing arms in said forward direction selectively to the decimal rings and thereby presenting the digit embossing elements of the decimal rings successively in progressive serial number configurations.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the latch elements 76-81 of the coupling means are selectively moved into and out of clutching engagement with the decimal rings which are operatively associated with the latch elements and which comprise the rollers 87, 89, 92, 94 and lugs 97-103.

When the serial number configuration 09-990 has been lined up on the anvil block 28 as shown in FIG. 28, the pawl 77 (FIG. 9) is kept depressed by contact of its roller 87 with the underside of the ring U. At the same time the pawl 78 is kept depressed by downward pressure of the coupling lug 97 upon the coupling lug 98; the pawl 79 is kept depressed by downward pressure of the coupling lug 99 upon the coupling lug 101; and the pawl 81 is kept depressed by downward pressure of the coupling lug 102 upon the coupling lug 103. Consequently, none of the aligned indexing and auxili- 

1. A progressive die for working strip stock continuously into perforated, inscribed and serially numbered plate members, said die comprising an elongated base member, a perforating section at one end of said base member, a blanking section at the other end of said base member, and numeral embossing and inscription embossing sections intermediate said perforating and blanking sections; and said numeral embossing section including a flat concentric assembly of relatively rotatable decimal rings each having a circular series of consecutive digit embossing elements at the obverse side of the ring assembly; and an indexing mechanism at the converse side of said ring assembly operable to rotate said rings step by step in predetermined order so as to present said digit embossing elements thereof in successive serial number configurations.
 2. A progressive die is set forth in claim 1, wherein said perforating section is located next to one side of said numeral embossing section; and wherein said inscription embossing section is located next to the other side of numeral embossing section.
 3. A progressive die as set forth in claim 2 wherein said inscription embossing section and said blanking section are separated from each other by an idle section.
 4. A progressive die as set forth in claim 3 wherein said idle section comprises a plurality of blind sections. 